Puckett's Valentine
by Salmon Cat
Summary: In which Sam Puckett tries to cope with being the official half of Sam & Cat's Super Rockin Fun-Time Babysitting Service, and Cat Valentine aims to soften her new roommie—one awkward hug at a time—while unfamiliar feelings bloom within. How is Sam dealing and what is Cat really up to? (A Puckentine Love Story, thing.)
1. I: Uncharted Territory

**This is my first time writing fanfiction, sorry if it's not too... fanfictiony for you. But I just couldn't help it, Sam & Cat is an adorable pairing and I love the two of them together so much I wish they were canon.**

**Disclaimer: Sam & Cat does not belong to me and stuff. Shwoop is a made up card game that isn't supposed to make sense, but I think I might be using it some more in future chapters so maybe it _could_ make sense later on.**

* * *

_**I**_

**Uncharted Territory**

It's been a mere couple of weeks since Sam moved in with Cat. A couple of weeks since she saved the redheaded klutz from a freakin' garbage truck. She hated to think what would've happened if she hadn't been there to stop by a food truck. She'd have finished her taco and left L.A., that's for sure, but she'd have missed out on _a lot_ of things.

It was definitely one of the most eventful days of Sam's life, having rescued a complete stranger from a garbage truck and then saving a man from suffocating, and then getting herself a place to crash and also a roommate... Even with her history of being a "juvenile delinquent" and an internet sensation at the same time, Sam had to admit her encountering Cat was an immediate and bizarre game changer. What else to expect from a friendship birthed in the depths of suburban garbage, though. Not only did she land herself a new friend, she's also got herself a decent paying job. Sometimes she snickers at the thought of meeting with Carly and telling her about her life now, babysitting little kids with Cat Valentine, of all people!

The thing was, Sam wasn't sure those were the only things that's changed. Her friendship with Cat is admittedly uncharted territory as she had never met someone _so_ unlike her. Clumsy, fragile, and a little _way_ too girly for Sam, Cat is exactly the kind of person she wouldn't usually mix with. And yet, Sam couldn't help but feel protective of this helpless girl. She'd been helping out so much she feared she was starting to soften. Getting a whole living room set from Cat's favorite TV show and organizing a freakin' bingo night just to get Cat's little pink bike back? Sam couldn't believe how nice and _thoughtful _she's been to this girl, and it was starting to scare her. Just the thought that she doesn't just _tolerate_ Cat, but actually stands up for and protects her whenever necessary... It was starting to really scare her.

"Sam?" the familiar airy voice calls out from the living room.

Sam jerks her head up, looking bewildered from the plated slice of pizza on the counter in front of her to Cat, who is sitting on the couch. Cat has her head resting on her two hands on the side of the couch, a fascinated smile on her face. It looks like she'd been home for a while.

"Eh—what?" Sam retorts. She stuffs the pizza in front of her in her mouth, and still busy chewing, she asks, "How long you been sitting there?" An awkward thought comes to her mind, dread filling up inside her. _Has she been watching me putting on this dumb face the whole time?_

"A while," Cat smiles. "What were you thinking about? You looked like you were thinking a lot of stuff."

She _had_ been thinking a lot of stuff, and Cat's interference was just on time. If she had put even a bit more thought to it, she'd be thinking of really awkward things right now. Sam shrugs noncommittally, "Just... nothin'. How was school?"

"Oh, school!" Cat exclaims, clasping her hands together. She reaches for her backpack and pulls out a pack of colorful looking cards. "I got these—they're playing cards! Look, look, look!" She fans out the cards to show Sam but drops them carelessly.

"What's it called?" Sam asks. She moves to the couch to take a better look at the cards. They're pink, green, yellow, and orange in color and had stripes and more colorful spots on them.

Cat picks up the scattered cards off the floor and beams at Sam, excited. "Shwoop!"

"_Shwoop_?"

"Shwoop!"

"Do I... wanna know how one plays Shwoop?" Sam was so used to Cat's quirks and habit of bringing random trivial things home, but sometimes these things sound so foreign to her she can't help but wonder if Cat doesn't just make these things up. _What the heck is Shwoop..._

Cat giggles and bounces energetically, her eyes alive. "It's really easy and fun!" More giggles. "I'll teach you and we can play all night!"

Sam looks at her for a moment but jerks away quickly. The thoughts were coming back in her head. Not good. Cat smiles at her expectantly, the cards gripped tight in her little hands. Sam couldn't care less about how to play Shwoop. She was sure it would be a really easy game anyway, and that she'd have to dumb herself down and let Cat win eventually. But it was more than that that worried her. All this softening up and giving in to Cat's little requests... She couldn't keep doing that until she figured out exactly what was going on in her head. She glances at the clock and decides to back out for now, "Uhh, don't we have kids to babysit today, or something?"

"Oh my gosh, we do! Well... then we could teach them Shwoop too, and we can all play together," Cat doesn't back down. She stares into Sam's eyes, a difficult task considering the latter is busy avoiding them. "It'll be fun," she added pleadingly.

Sam meets her eyes for a second, those puppy dog brown eyes, and sighs. "Fine," she declares, getting off the couch to avoid looking at Cat any longer. "What time are they comin', again?"

"Soon! So now I can teach _you_ first so you can help me explain the rules to the kids later on," Cat jumps up, her red curls bouncing up and down with her. Sometimes Sam feels like she does that on purpose, acting sweet and all. But then again, Cat seems _way_ too sweet to be using her sweetness to get her way. It frustrated Sam at first, not being able to figure her out. But now she's all used to it and just learns to go with it.

"Uhh... you know what, why don't you set up the game—Shwoop, or whatever ("Shwoopy shwoopy shwoop!" Cat chimed, swinging the cards around in a sort of goofy dance)—and I'll be back in a bit, okay?" Sam says, making her way to the front door before Cat can stop her. "I need to go see someone... about something... somewhere. I'll be back."

"Kay-kay!" Cat grins and starts prepping the game on the space on the floor, singing "Shwoopy shwoopy shwoop!" to herself as Sam walks out.

* * *

Sam makes her way down the suburban street lined with houses all looking similar and familiar to Cat's. Occasionally she spots little girls and boys whom she babysat with Cat maybe several days before, playing in the streets. They smile and wave at her, but she ignores them.

She walks on and on, not caring about how tired her legs are becoming or how she really doesn't know where she's going or what she's really trying to do. All she knows is that it's best not to be around Cat too much when she's still so busy contemplating her thoughts and feelings about the girl. She couldn't even _look_ at Cat back there without feeling warm in the face. More than doing stuff, she hated doing stuff for other people. But these days Cat seems to have become a major exception to Sam's principles. Was she really softening up?

She passes Inside Out Burger where she sees the guy she and Cat had saved just weeks ago standing by the drive-thru window. The guy waves cheerfully and asks her if she'd like some free burgers to go, but she waves him off and says, "Maybe later."

And then she stops, and stares at the drive-thru window. At the guy. At the sign that said Inside Out Burger. She turns around to gauge how far she'd walked from home. _Yeah, home. Alright? _She thought bitterly. A realization hits her. Everything she's seen on her way out, _everything_, it all traces back to Cat. No matter how far she goes. A little farther from here and she'd be passing Elderly Acres, and that was the place that got her into being roommates with Cat in the first place. _Dang, I really can't escape this girl, huh?_ She was starting to get angry. Not at Cat, but at herself. _Unless I leave, I'm really going to just keep getting closer to her... This place is already starting to fill up with random memories. And I can't leave right now. She's too naive, she's too nice, she's too helpless... The world would eat her alive._

Sam can still recall hoisting Cat out of the garbage truck that very day. Cat had often passed out over little things like being confused in an argument or even from excitement, but that day, Cat had fainted out of fear, putting Sam in the inevitable position of having to be a hero. Ever since then, Sam had been doing things for Cat or helping her out. If Sam had been put in the hero position against her will with the garbage truck incident, though, she sure couldn't use the same excuse for all the _other_ times she'd come to Cat's rescue. No matter how she looked at it, Sam doesn't just help Cat because she was forced to, or because Cat was helpless... No. She does things for Cat because... _Because I just don't like seeing her upset. Because I just want to see her usual smile and hear her usual giggle. And if I leave now..._

"Uhh... Y'know what. On second thought," Sam yells at the Inside Out Burger guy, running up to the drive-thru window. "Maybe now would be good."

* * *

_Ding dong, now open the door_. Sam grips the bag of cheeseburgers and fries in her hand tight. The door swings open and it's Cat, beaming and sweating and joyful, but with cat whiskers drawn on her face in black marker pen. Sam peers inside at the sight of three blond haired kids sat on the floor, marker pens in hand and a game of Shwoop being played. Those kids even did an adorable cat nose on Cat's nose.

"Sam, come in and help me. The kids are really good at Shwoop!" Cat tugs on Sam's long sleeve, even though Sam isn't really doing much to resist. "Where were you, anyway?"

"Sorry I'm late, I thought I'd get us some food," Sam smiles, lifting up the Inside Out Burger bag to show her. "Some _free_ food."

Cat jumps up in glee, "Yay! Ooh—that's so nice of you, Sam!" And before she could even reply, Sam finds herself locked in Cat's usual spontaneous embrace, like every other day. Cat's red hair all up in Sam's face, the sweet smell of shampoo and fast food churning in her system, Sam can't help but give a gentle squeeze back. What was she thinking? _Leaving my ass._

When Cat does let go, though, Sam makes a point not to look in her face or anything. _Too early for that kinda post-hugging awkwardness_, she reasons, and turns to the kids who had been gaping up at the two. "It's burger time, people!" she roars, skipping into the room and taking a seat next to the kids.

Cat skips inside too, happy as ever, yelling "And Shwoop!"

"And Shwoop!" Sam joins in, picking up a marker pen.


	2. II: Half-Hugs

_**II**_

**Half-Hugs**

"Cat..."

"Shhh..." Cat replies, clenching her eyes shut.

"Cat," the other voice persists.

It sounds familiar, the voice, but Cat can't be bothered right now. She was just about to get on that unicorn after feeding it cotton candy when the mysterious voice started saying her name in her head. Now the unicorn is gone and Cat's determined to relocate it. "Shhhhhhhhh!" She shh'd.

"Cat. Cat. Cat. _CAT_!" Sam roars, her voice vibrating violently in Cat's head.

Cat flings her eyes open and looks around her, bewildered. She'd fallen asleep on the couch, she remembers, except...

"You've been sleeping _on_ me," Sam says slowly. "The whole freakin' night."

Cat rises slowly, looking around her. The Shwoop cards are scattered on the floor with a bunch of marker pens, along with five crumpled burger wrappers. She looks at Sam's leg dangling awkwardly over the backside of the sofa, her petite body resting snugly between the blonde's thighs. And then her eyes meet hers.

"Well?" Sam asks.

"Well what?" Cat says, frowning in confusion. She brushes her fingers through her no doubt messy hair, her head still slightly ringing from the wake up call. _Ahh, headache..._ the little voice in her head whines, _Why did Sam have to yell so loud in the morning, anyway?_

"Well, get off," Sam replies, like it's the most obvious thing in the world. She sits up and easily lifts Cat off her, putting her on the floor like a confused little puppy. "Geez, I can't feel my legs now."

Cat watches as Sam makes her way to the kitchen, no doubt scavenging for whatever is available for breakfast. Her vision clearing up, she stares at Sam's face for a bit before stating her observation. "Sam, you have marker doodles on your face."

Sam shrugs, taking out a bottle of soda from the fridge and having a gulp. "That may be true, but _you_ have whiskers and a beard."

Cat rubs her hands all over her face, checking to see if she can feel the whiskers and the beard. No luck. She tries again, but all she's really doing is making inky smudges all over her face. "Well, _you_ have your name on your forehead!" She points, annoyed.

"Well..." Sam squints. "You wrote 'Puckle', didn't you?"

Cat nods innocently, saying, "Well, that _is_ your name."

"It's Puckett," Sam says, enunciating each syllable with what looks like patient irritation.

"Sure, whatever you say," Cat smiles and gets up to go wash her face.

In the bathroom, Cat pumps her favorite strawberry flavored face wash onto her hands and starts humming while she cleans her face, but she doesn't even get to her favorite part of the humming when Sam calls out from the kitchen. "Ya better clean up fast or you'll be late for school."

* * *

Sam grips her motorcycle's handlebars tight, but probably not as tight as Cat is holding on to her, sitting at the back. The streets aren't that crowded, but Cat's already pretty late, and Sam had agreed to take her on her motorcycle after a long time of arguing and persuading—Sam didn't want to leave before finishing her breakfast.

"Hey, Sam!" Cat calls in her usual sing-song voice, only a little louder as she tries to beat the noise of the motorcycle engine. "Sam!"

"What?" Sam asks, barely audible.

"Don't you wish you could ride without looking at the road?" Cat says, resting her chin comfortably on Sam's shoulder, so she could talk without having to yell.

"Well, that's great—so we can crash into a tree or a truck or something," Sam replies bluntly. "That'd be a scene."

"No, silly, so you can hug me back!" Cat laughs. _How could Sam be so slow this early in the_ _morning?_

Sam snorts. "And why'd I want to do that?"

"Well, you did it last night, no problemo," Cat says.

But Sam's slowing down. The engine goes from its usual blaring roar to a slowing purr. They're pulling over to the side of the road. A car or two passes by, blowing Cat's hair against the wind. Sam takes off her helmet and turns to face Cat. "Come again?"

Cat's smiling and nodding, her eyebrows raised and her brown eyes glaring alive at Sam as if to say _Yeah, silly, you did_. "You hugged me back last night, hello?"

Sam frowns. She doesn't look so happy about the idea that she'd possibly hugged Cat back, but Cat wasn't sure if that's anger on Sam's face. "Uhh—no, I'm pretty sure I didn't."

"Uhh, yes, you did. I called you nice, and then I hugged you," Cat explains, nodding excitedly. "And then you hugged me back. Like this," she pulls Sam gently into a one armed hug, but Sam's resisting and getting all noisy.

"Gah—geez, not on the road!" Sam shouts, turning back to face the front, tugging on her black leather jacket's sleeves. "And that wasn't even a hug, it was a half-hug. Now quit sayin' nonsense and let me drive—you're already late."

* * *

The motorcycle slows to a stop in front of Hollywood Arts. Cat hops off, relaxed and in her own bubble, completely forgetting that she was supposed to be late. She turns to face Sam, who's suddenly busy with something on the sleeve of her leather jacket.

"Well, bye bye!" Cat waves, even though Sam's barely paying any attention. She's already putting on her helmet and starting the engine.

"I'll come and pick you up later," Sam calls out as Cat's halfway through skipping inside. Cat giggles and turns around to say something, but Sam raises her hand to stop her, "And I'm not—nice," Sam says, more to herself than to Cat, sighing.

Cat cups her hands around her mouth and yells loudly after the motorcycle disappearing round the corner, "Yes, you are, silly!"


	3. III: Best Friends

_**III**_

**Best Friends**

"Cat, stop that, you're tickling me," Sam grumbles, leaning far into the handlebars of her motorcycle, trying to get out of Cat's back hug.

It had been okay the first few times, but today it feels like Cat's just touching all her ticklish spots—intentionally or unintentionally. Plus, they _are_ on a speeding motorcycle and Sam doesn't want to risk any of them getting hurt over a stupid _hug_. Sam had thought that a day of school would help Cat get over the hugging back deal, but when Sam had come to pick her up, she was greeted by this weird welcoming committee-like bunch of teenagers who she assumes are Cat's friends, who then one by one received a hug from Cat before she waved an airy "See you tomorrow!" and hopped on the back of Sam's motorcycle.

Sam knows Cat's trying to prove a point, whatever point that is, because she noticed how each of the hugs lingered awkwardly for a second or two before Cat's friends would catch on and hug back, their arms going round her small back and patting her awkwardly before letting go, but at this point Sam doesn't even care that she maybe, _quite_ possibly, _did_ hug Cat back. All she wants is for Cat to let that go so she can look her in the face again. _It was just a gentle squeeze, geez._

Their conversation in the morning had bothered Sam so much, she couldn't get anything done the whole day. She couldn't even _eat_ in peace and that's saying something. She just doesn't get why Cat has to make a big deal out of it. Couldn't Cat see how uncomfortable it was for her to be reminded of the little incident? She wasn't even thinking straight when it happened, so really, it shouldn't even count, right?

When they arrive back home and Sam's got her motorcycle parked in the back and everything, Cat was already waiting at the kitchen counter, smiling expectantly at Sam. "So, did you like my best friends?"

Sam stops, frowning. She wanted to scowl at Cat, but she really can't look her in the face now. "You didn't even introduce us to each other."

"Oh, right," Cat gasps, her hand on her mouth. "Well, I meant to do that, but I—"

"But you set that up just for me to watch and _learn_ from the hug-a-thon?" Sam asks.

"Ooh—what's a hug-a-thon? Can _I_ join?"

Sam rolls her eyes, but takes a deep breath to explain, "No—_hug_-a-thon. Like marathon, you know, but hug-a-thon."

But that doesn't seem to clear things up for Cat, who starts frowning, her mind evidently trying to make some sense out of the conversation. "So why would you say hug-a-thon if you meant marathon?"

"Look, it doesn't matter. I'm just sayin', stop it. Like, let it go," Sam says, exasperated, her arms swinging wildly in the hopes that by doing so Cat would just get the point and _let it go_. "So I hugged you back, big deal."

"But it _is_ a big deal because you always say, you know, 'Not a hugger!'" Cat smiles. She had raised her voice for the last three words in an attempt to imitate Sam, but all she sounded like was a low-voiced, whiny little girl. "I just wanted you to see that _all_ best friends hug each other all the time!"

Sam looks away at the last sentence. For some reason, her mind went to Carly and Freddie, and her time in Seattle. Shooting iCarly and going to a proper high school. _Best friends..._ _I had best friends, and I used to hug them all the time. And now one's in freakin' Italy and the other took a dump on my heart. Best friends, my ass_. The more she stood there, quiet and thinking to herself, the weirder she felt. Sam's two default feelings are feeling angry, and feeling hungry, but now there's a weird feeling stirring up inside her, triggered by what Cat'd said.

_Stupid. Of course Cat has her own friends. You've only really known her for weeks now while they've been around first. Compared to her multi-talented, artsy best friends... You're just a roommie. A roommie with ridiculous anger issues who can't even hug back._

The whole time Sam's standing there, deep in saddened thoughts, Cat's looking at her, waiting for some reaction. Maybe an angry retort. Or anything. But Sam doesn't look like she's about to talk soon, so Cat decides to move closer. She gently takes hold of Sam's elbow, triggering another sudden jolt on her side. Sam pulls away, but not too far away.

"But... you know, there are best friends who don't like hugging back too, and that's okay." Cat's soft, gentle voice reaches Sam's ears and she starts feeling even stupider, "Because you know, that's just you."

_How am I supposed to react now? Did she really just say "best friends"?_

"I know we don't really know much about each other, but our friendship was formed on the foundations of smelly, squishy garbage trucks, and _possible death_," Cat continues, ending her sentence with a wide-eyed whisper. Sam can't help but feel amused by Cat's dramatic little speech. Sure, she's all touched inside, but no matter what, ultimately Cat's still an innocent, naive girl, and her little talk has sparked a little, suppressed grin on Sam's face. "And no other best friend of mine have ever saved me from... from death by garbage!"

Sam stays quiet, not daring to look up at the girl, not daring to say anything in fear of increasing the awkwardness of the situation. Besides, they're having a little moment here. _Aaaand_ _I still don't know how to react_.

"So I'm going to keep hugging you, because that's what best friends do," Cat says, her voice sounding comically determined. "And you're going to keep not hugging back, because that's what _you_ do."

"So like, part of our... odd couple dynamic, thing?" Sam asks, slowly looking up Cat. Their eyes meet for the first time in the whole day, and Sam feels a rush of gratitude for the little talk they had because at least now it's less awkward.

They stand there in the middle of the living room, smiling at each other, embracing their seemingly established status as best friends. "I'm hugging you now," Cat finally says, her arms raised at the ready.

"Nope," Sam says, turning away with a big grin on her face. Now that that's settled, things can go back to the way they were. No more overthinking things, no more being an awkward dud. _Just... go with it, or whatever_. "It's babysitting time now."

"But the kids aren't here yet!"

"Goodie—more time for me to eat and recharge."

"Can we play Shwoop?"

"If you want to lose and get another beard, sure."

"Can we just doodle on each other's faces, then?"

"You _seriously _think I'd say yes to that?"

But there really _was_ nothing more to overthink about, Sam's sure. They'll just keep doing this babysitting-roommates deal until something comes up, right? There's no point in thinking about the future when they're so busy doing stuff right now.

Just then, the doorbell rings. Cat skips excitedly to greet the guest, whomever that may be, and opens the door to an old lady and a little redheaded kid cradling a gray little cat in his arms.


	4. IV: Lost Cat

_**IV**_

**Lost Cat**

"So... Do you like, _talk_?" Sam asks, squinting at the redheaded kid. "At all?"

Apart from telling them his name ("Cal," he'd mumbled,) and telling his Nona goodbye, the litte boy had kept silent for almost an hour now. At first, Cat had tried to get the boy to play Shwoop, but he kept trying to make paper airplanes out of the cards, and so Sam slapped his hand away and quickly suggested they use the cards as weapons to slice bananas instead.

When Sam returned with a bunch of bananas from the fridge, though, the boy had left his seat on the floor and was sitting on the couch with his cat once more.

Cat, on the other hand is left distraught on the floor, whining softly about how the Shwoop cards are all bent and folded now.

Finally, the two of them give up and decide to just wait until Cal's Nona comes back to pick him up. The cards and the bananas put aside, the three of them sit awkwardly on the couch with the television switched off. Occasionally, the cat (whose name they still don't know) purrs and meows, but otherwise, things were back to its awkward state.

Cat pouts, thinking she had tried so hard to make things less awkward with Sam and her strange behavior lately, and now they're stuck with _yet_ another painfully awkward situation. She hates not being able to talk freely with Sam because she really _did_ like Sam and her angry outbursts and her hunger withdrawals. _It's like having a less mean Jade around, and we get to spend time together all the time._

"Cat," Sam suddenly speaks. She had leaned so far down the couch that her head is level with their butts, her eyes staring into space. She could fall asleep any second now. "Why don't you get my motorcycle and hit me with it."

"Sam," Cat shoots Sam a reproachful look. "Can't you think of something that requires _less_ cleaning up later? What do _you_ want to do, Cal?"

Cal looks up slowly at Cat, and says, "_I_ want to pee."

"If he pees on the couch I'm gonna make his grandma pay us triple," Sam announces, getting off the couch instinctively.

Cal gets up defiantly, his cat still kept in his arms. "I don't pee in my _pants_ anymore!" Now that he's saying more than five words at a time, Cat can see the boy's teeth are missing in a lot of places. No wonder he wouldn't talk. But now that Cal's opened up, he seemed to get louder and louder. He turns to Sam and holds out his cat, yelling, "Now hold Cat for me while I go pee!"

There is another awkward minute in which Cat stares from Cal's cat to Cal, and then to Sam. Cal pushes his cat into Sam's arms and stalks off to the back. "He _seriously_ named his cat Cat?" Sam asks, scoffing.

Cat ponders this for a moment before giggling aloud. "Oh, just like _my_ name!" She giggles and laughs to herself while Sam goes to the kitchen counter, putting the cat there. "Oh, that's really funny!" Cat says to herself, evidently amused by it all. She laughs a little more before...

"Can someone come here and help me with the toilet?" Cal's voice yells out.

Sam instantly turns away, "I am _not_ wiping that kid's ass."

"Fine, _I'll_ go," Cat answers dejectedly, she flips her hair over her shoulder and stares with envy at Sam and the cat. Her face quickly brightens, though, as she adds, "Ooh, so while I'm gone, you can have a nice little chat with the other Cat!"

"Oh, right. I can't _wait_ to hear about his day," Sam drawls sarcastically, looking at the grey cat perched on the counter, its yellow eyes unblinking.

"Are you coming or not?!" Cal screams.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Cat screams back, her voice losing its airy and gentle touch. She rushes to the bathroom looking unusually angry.

* * *

"Now _where's_ Cat?" Cal demands when Cat stomps her way back to the living room, her hand holding onto Cal's.

The whole time, Cat keeps muttering, "I cannot _believe_ you would do that to my favorite shampoo!"

The two of them stop right before the kitchen. The counter is empty—no Sam, no cat. Cat makes the obligatory move to check under the counter, obviously to no result. When she turns to face the living room, however, her mouth drops open.

Sam is sprawled on the couch, her mouth slightly open, casually snoring. One hand is folded under her blonde hair, while the other dangles by the side of the couch. "Sam!"

"Huh?" Sam jerks awake, her hair sticking out at random places. "What?"

"Where is Cat?" Cal demands again.

Sam squints at the pair, their hands locked even though it's evident Cal is trying to break loose. "Well, Cat numero _uno_ is standing right next to _you_... And Cat numero..."

She turns around on the couch, and her mouth drops open just as Cat's did. The front door stands ajar, wind blowing in slightly. It's silent and dark outside, and worst of all, Cat numero two is nowhere to be seen.

"You are the _worst_ babysitters, ever!" Cal screams, swinging his hand out of Cat's hold and dropping to the ground, kicking around. "Stupid, stupid, _stupid_!"

"Hey, kiddo, call me stupid but _she_ just wiped your stinkin' ass for ya," Sam says dangerously, taking a step towards the little boy. "Now quit yapping and let's go look for the darn cat, he can't have gone far anyway."

"Cat is a _girl_! And she _could_ have gone far!" Cal yells, slamming his fists furiously against the floor. "She's always trying to run away—"

"Oh, gee, I wonder why!" Sam yells back.

"—and if _you_ would've held her like I told you to—"

"Well, you know what, maybe she's better off without you, you loud—"

But Cat's had enough of it. Enough of all the yelling and screaming. Anymore of it and she would just pass out. The insides of her head's already ringing. She takes a deep breath and lets out a loud roar, "STOP IT, YOU TWO."

Sam and Cal shut their mouths almost immediately, their heads turning to stare at the source of the sudden noise.

"Sam, we need to look for her, the poor thing's probably scared out there all alone," Cat says, her voice returning to normal. A worried look spreads across her face.

"Hey, we'll find her," Sam says with a little shrug. She moves forward awkwardly to pat Cat on her shoulder. "Now, I'll go with him and search outside, but you stay here in case she comes back or whatever, okay?"

"But I want to come too," Cat pleads. "I'll help!"

"Nope," Sam shakes her head, resolute. "The last time _you_ looked for a lost cat, _I_ had to dive in a garbage truck. I don't think so."

"But then I'd feel useless," Cat frowns.

Sam pats her on the shoulder once more and ushers her to the fridge, "You're not useless. You stay right here and make us some food for later because I—"

"ARE WE LEAVING OR NOT?" Cal yells.

"_Kid_," Sam growls, taking her hand off Cat. "If you don't shuddup, I will physically make you."

"Let's _go_, then!" Cal wails, stomping his foot on the ground.

"You stay here, alright?" Sam says as she shuts the front door, her finger pointed firmly at Cat.

_Well, now what do I do?_

The little voice in her head is back, it seems, like it always is whenever she's left alone.

_Think happy thoughts... Happy thoughts..._


	5. V: Lost Cat II

_**V**_  
**Lost Cat II**

"My grandmother's going to be _really_ mad, you know," Cal says, sulking with his arms crossed as Sam looks for the darned cat under torn cardboard boxes and paper bags in a deserted alley.

"As long as she's not as loud as _you_ are, I don't really care," Sam replies. She tosses a folded cardboard box to one side, and another one behind that. Every time she lifts something and looks under it, she keeps hoping the cat would be under it, sleeping or sucking on rat bones or whatever. She just wants it to be over already. But with Cal sulking and stating unnecessarily irritating comments now and again, Sam can't help but hope the cat's gone _way_ far. _She really is better off without him._

Cal goes over to another corner of the alley, kicking a garbage bag angrily. "If _you_ would have—"

But Sam lets out an overly exaggerated sigh, turning around to glare at the darned boy. "Hey, you know what, let's get back and see if your cat's come back, alright? She's obviously not here, and we've searched _everywhere_. I'm tired." _Is it even legal for anyone this young to be this annoying? Does it look like I even care about his stupid cat? Plus I'm already looking like an idiot here, screaming out Cat's name. I bet people think I'm looking for the actual Cat. And this stupid prick of a boy can't even shut up... It's bad enough that he's barely helping with the search.__  
_

"What if she's not there?" Cal squints.

"Then we'll figure it out when we're there, I don't know, " Sam shrugs. _I don't know, and I really don't care. Ugh... _"I don't have my phone with me, I can't call Cat. So we'll just have to get back, alright?" _I'm getting hungry here_, she groans inside.

* * *

"You know what, kid," Sam begins, her index finger perked up in faked optimism. "This cat doesn't even _like_ you, so if we don't find her, we could just get you another cat that _actually_ likes you."

Cal slams the door behind him as they return home. "You think you're _so_ funny."

"_You think you're so funny,_" Sam repeats in a mock toddler-like tone. "You wait here and let me get Cat. I hope she _did_ make food, I'm hungry like anything..."

"My cat's not even here!" Cal screams, but Sam's already gone up to check on Cat.

Sam peeks into the bathroom on her way to their room but Cat doesn't seem to be in there. She hurries to their bedroom door and swings it open, saying in a rushed whisper, "Cat, you think the pet shop's open this time around—"

Silence. Their room is empty and silent and just the way it usually is, except... it's Cat-less.

"Cat...?" Sam asks, slowly. She takes careful steps into the room, as if Cat might be hiding under her blankets, or wherever. A panic-like feeling starts creeping up on her, but she tries hard not to let it get to her. _No use panicking... She should be around here somewhere_. But of course she isn't there in the room, or anywhere in the house. She considers calling out, "Marco?" but she knows for sure that Cat's not here. _She wouldn't chill in the room. Of course she'd go out anyway. __Why didn't I see this coming..._ "Ding it, Cat, you couldn't at least make food before you left... Ugh—hey, kid! We got an all new situation, here!"

* * *

"My grandmother's coming to pick me up _soon_, we _need_ to find Cat!" Cal yells. He'd been yelling for the past ten minutes now while Sam's been calling Cat's phone. She considers calling Cat's Nona but she isn't sure what she would tell the poor old lady... _since I don't even know where she went. Or when._

Sam holds up a finger angrily at Cal. "Look, kid, I don't care about your _stupid_ cat, alright? So shut up for a minute, I need to find Cat." She rolls her eyes, exhausted. _I can't believe the crap I have to deal with right now. I should be eating and Cat should be here, with food. And this boy, he should be away, far, far, away from me and Cat. _Sam's mind reels for possible places to search for Cat in. _We don't have time. Do I check garbage bins? Garbage trucks? How long has she been gone?_

But Cal isn't having any of this messed up priority system deal, it seems, as he stalks over and kicks Sam's left leg furiously in the shin. Repeatedly. "I—WANT—MY—CAT—BACK!"

"NOT—BEFORE—I FIND MY—" Sam growls, wincing in pain as her legs barely feel strong enough to support her, but managing enough energy to grab the little boy by his ankles. In a few seconds, she has Cal off the floor, hanging dangerously upside down. "HOW'S IT _HANGIN_', KID? HOW'S IT—" she taunts, slightly dancing on the spot to shake the boy without doing anything too violent.

Cal screams and yells and screeches. Thanks to gravity, his shirt is down to his face, muffling the noise coming out of him. His arms swing wildly around, trying to hit Sam wherever he could manage. But Sam'd gotten a good hold on him, holding him far enough from herself while being careful not to drop him, or whatever. "Hey, kid, if you don't shut up I'm really going to have to—"

"_SAM_!" A familiar voice calls out.

Sam freezes for a bit, but slowly lowers her arms, letting little Cal crumple down gently onto the floor, his eyes looking like he was about to cry. Sam turns around to the glass doors leading to their backyard where her motorcycle is parked. Right next to it, Cat stands with the little grey cat in her arms.

More than the shock of finding Cat without having to look anywhere dangerous, Sam's jaws drop open as she sees that Cat is soaking wet. Her usually curled dark magenta hair clings to the sides of her face, just like her wet clothes are sticking to her petite figure. "C—Cat, what the heck—what _happened_?"

Cat walks in slowly, a traumatized look on her face. She bends down to let the cat go. It hobbles to where Cal is—seated quietly on the floor, breathing hard. Cat looks at Sam, her eyes widened from whatever shock she must have gone through. She shakes her head, "The garbage truck was _so much_ better."

But before Sam can even interrogate her soaking roommate, or get her towel, the doorbell rings. _Please don't be an angry neighbor, please don't be an angry neighbor... _"Grandma!" Cal exclaims, picking up his cat and stumbling over to the door.

* * *

"So... you _didn't_ hurt Cal?" Cat asks, her eyebrows raised. She sits on the rim of the bathtub as Sam tosses her a towel.

"Well—I mean, I lifted him, sure," Sam says, shrugging. She lingers on the doorway of the bathroom, her arms folded as she observes Cat. "But I didn't _drop_ him on his head or anything. Besides, it shut him up, didn't it?"

"Okay, then," Cat smiles, "It's a good thing he didn't mention anything to his Nona, though. We would've gotten in trouble."

Sam nods, a guilty look forming in her grin, "I'd like to think that has _a lot_ to do with the hanging..."

"Well, anyway, I'm glad you didn't really hurt him," Cat's humming underneath the towel, trying to dry her hair. "And lucky I found the cat. Old Mr Bobbins next door was going to hose him, but he hit me instead." Cat looks up at Sam, pouting. "For some reason, he kept calling me 'darn ginger cat'. I don't even know..."

"Good thing _you_ didn't get hurt or anything," Sam watches as Cat rubs the towel around her hair and her face, but her clothes are still pretty wet. "And, uh—you know what, I'll go get you some dry clothes. _Or_..."

Cat looks up at Sam, her brows furrowed curiously. "Or _what_?"

Sam grins mischievously down at her from the doorway. Without saying anything, she picks up the blowdryer on the bathroom counter and plugs it in. "Or, we could do _this_," she flicks the switch up on the handle as it starts blowing with a loud hum, pointing it at Cat like a gun.

Cat giggles her usual, amused, giggle as the hot air hits her full-force in the face, blowing through her drying hair.

"Surrender yourself, or be _dried_!_" _Sam demands in a low, evil villain-like voice, pointing the blowdryer from Cat's hair, to her face, to her stomach, where her wet shirt blows in different directions, clinging persistently onto her.

Cat's laughing, her hands gripped tight on the edges of the bathtub so as to not fall over or inside. "Oh, I surrender, I surrender!" she plays along, her voice coming out shrill but gentle, her face glowing in faked panic. "Oh, _now_ I wish I had two blowdryers!"

"Too bad for you, mama has the gun!"

And they go on like that, spouting cheesy dialogue at each other while Sam makes sure she gets Cat _everywhere_, even her ears, until Cat gets off the bathtub at one point and flees the bathroom, running clumsily with her hair waving behind her, leaving Sam behind. The blowdryer's wire tugging her back, Sam yanks it out of the socket and leaves it on the counter. She goes to chase after Cat, whom she can hear jumping around and giggling in their room. "I may have lost my gun, but I shall get you with my—_argh_! Freakin'—peanuts—my dang _leg_!" Her evil villain voice quickly goes back to her usual one as she yelps and winces in pain.

The throbbing hurting in her shin comes back all at once the moment she'd stomped her legs onto the floor, trying to run after Cat. Now she realizes she can't put too much pressure on it_. It feels like being run over by a darn truck,_ she thinks to herself, limping her way to their room.

Cat hops off her bed immediately when she sees Sam making her way into the room, with apparent difficulty. In the long time it took Sam to get herself there, Cat had already changed into some dry PJs. "_Sam_! What's wrong?"

"Nothing—I fell," Sam lies, dragging her hurting feet to her bed. "Wow, I'm tired."

But Cat doesn't seem to be. She hurries over to Sam's bed, her usual worried look on her face. _Ugh, I hate when she looks at me like that... I thought I was the one taking care of her, why is always looking at me like she's pitying me?_

"Come here, let me see," Cat says, her hands going to Sam's shin. Sam had been holding on to it the whole time, hoping rather stupidly that squeezing around it would ooze the pain out, or something.

"It's _nothing_, it'll be fine as long as I sleep," Sam grumbles, pulling her leg away from Cat's hands. "It's fine, I've gotten hurt worse before."

Cat simply shoots her an angry but gentle look, though, and quietly pulls Sam's pants up to her knee, revealing the so-called 'nothing' going on. Cat gasps, her hand flying to her mouth. Even Sam looks slightly taken aback by the sight of her horribly bruised shin. It looked like... "Fifty shades of black and blue," Sam jokes, even though she can't really run her fingers down it without gritting her teeth. _Dang, that kid sure knew how to kick. Maybe I should've dropped him on his head after all._

"Where did you _fall_?" Cat asks, her eyes widened. She pulls Sam's leg slowly by the ankle, to straighten it, and starts to give it a gentle, powerless massage around the bruises. "The last time I had bruises like that was when I fell off the stage at school because my friend Robbie didn't catch me like he was supposed to—and then, and then I was out, for like, eight hours!"

"Well, I'm stronger, obviously, so this kinda stuff can't make me faint that easily," Sam shrugs, shooting Cat a playful condescending look. She manages a smile before saying, "I'm fine, Cat, I swear."

Cat lets go. She sits there for a while, looking at Sam's bruises, looking like she's trying to think of what to say next. "You know..." She starts, her face straining, looking like she's really thinking hard. "You don't _have_ to be the strong one _all_ the time. It's okay to be taken care of, once in a while. That's why I miss Nona sometimes, because she used to take care of me all the time. But then, but then, I have _you_ now. But you know, you can't keep being the strong one. Like today, I mean, if you'd just let me come with you, we would have found the cat faster. _And_ I could have stopped you from falling," she looks earnestly at Sam. "So you wouldn't have gotten hurt, like this."

Sam takes a deep breath, taking in everything Cat's said, her eyebrows raised. "Well, I mean, when you say it like _that_—" But she's out of words to say. What is she supposed to say to that, anyway? _There she goes again_, she thought bitterly,_ always spurting out random bits of wisdom when I least expect it._

"Do you want to hold my giraffe?"

"Heh?"

"It always helps me when I get boo-boos," Cat nods encouragingly.

Sam could hear a sigh in her head, but she lets out a slight smile anyway. _Always spurting out random bits of wisdom, and then going back to her usual self, more like. I've really got to stop overthinking this whole thing. Cat's just being nice, because that's who she is... And you're going to keep your distance because that's just who you are. _"Look, just sleep, okay? You got school tomorrow, and _I_ gotta sleep even _more_ tomorrow," Sam says, letting out a loud yawn and leaning back to lie down. She hits the switch near her head, dimming the lights. _I'm so sleepy I don't even care about going to bed with an empty stomach..._

A few minutes pass. Sam opens her eyes slightly, only to see that Cat's still sitting at the foot of her bed, her legs crossed, her eyes intently watching her. She looks slightly startled when she notices Sam's staring back at her, though, but quickly puts her finger to her lips like a little child caught in the act, and hops off the bed, going back to hers.

"Good night, Sam," Cat says cheerfully.

"Gurgh-nurgh," Sam mumbles before falling into what feels like a day-long sleep.

* * *

Sam didn't wake up—and hadn't been planning to—until she hears a muffled whisper somewhere near her. Her eyes open wide and she tries to sit up before remembering that her leg still hurts. She manages to peek up at her surroundings before giving in and falling back to her lying down position. The first thing she'd noticed is the two pairs of eyes staring at her from somewhere at the foot of the bed. One of the pairs was the usual, chocolatey brown eyes she'd grown to be used to—Cat's. The other pair's eyes are dark in every sense possible. Surrounded by black eyeliner, the bluey-greeney eyes look hateful, even though Sam doesn't really know what she's done to earn such a look from a complete stranger, upon waking up, too.

"Sam," She can hear Cat's voice. She can even hear the excitement in it if she concentrates hard enough. Cat sounds positively ecstatic, stifling her usual giggle. "I brought you a guest!" she goes on, like she's revealing some grand prize.

_Geez, she could at least let me know before bringing in... whoever this is, up to our room. Who was it, anyway? Sure doesn't look like anyone I know..._

* * *

**Hey, guys! I just wanted to take a minute and thank everyone who took the time to review, follow, and/or favorite this little thing. I really appreciate it, and I thank you for giving this amateur work even the slightest bit of attention.** **I will continue to update the story daily unless something comes up. **

**Can you guess who Cat's guest is, and what's to come in the next chapter? (Eh, of course you can...)**

**Oh, and I apologize for making this particular chapter slightly longer than the others. You might also notice that most of Sam's chapters are longer than Cat's. It's actually intentional as (the way I see it, anyway) Cat's string of thoughts isn't as detailed and focused as Sam's is, seeing as she doesn't usually pay attention to anything for too long (unless it's Sam!).**

**Thanks again for reading this far, guys. Cheers!**


	6. VI: Sam Meets Her Match

_**VI**_

**Sam Meets Her Match**

"Let—me—_go_," Sam growled as she tries to wrestle the slightly bigger Jade West, who, in turn, is trying to wrestle her down on the floor as Cat watches with an ice pack ready in her hand.

As soon as Sam had had the strength to get off the bed, Cat had rushed to Jade's side and whispered, "Now!" a little too loudly.

Sam barely had time to react when Jade pounces on to her with a nasty smirk on her face, saying, "Hi, I'm Jade."

The next few minutes quickly becomes a mess of arms and hair. Sam can't do much to fight off he opponent with her hurting leg, Cat knows, and she's sure that if Sam had been in her usual, much stronger condition, it would take Cat passing out from the stress to stop Sam and Jade from really hurting each other.

"Sam, you have to stay still, I'm trying to make your leg better!" Cat says over the grunting and growling going on on the floor.

"Sure—put some ice on my leg—but _strangle me to death while you're at it_!" Sam yelled, her other leg kicking wildly around as Jade casually plops herself down onto Sam's chest, holding her two hands by the wrists.

Cat, seeing Sam finally apprehended, quickly rushes down to her legs. "You know this is the only way you'd agree..." She starts dabbing the ice pack lightly around the bruises. Overnight, the shades of blue had gone purplish and yellowey in random spots.

"You _do _know putting ice on it _now_'s not gonna help?" Jade asks. She eyes Sam's bruised leg for a bit and adds, "Can I take a picture of it?"

"I—still—am not—agreeing—to this!" Sam shouts, but at least she'd stopped the kicking.

"Cat, I don't like her," Jade declares, turning to Cat with her hands still tight around Sam's wrists. "She's making too much noise."

"She's usually really nice, though," Cat smiles, still dabbing the ice pack all over Sam's shin.

"I won't be, after _this_," Sam grumbles, but she loosens up eventually, leaning back on the floor, accepting her fate. "And I don't like _you_ too," she adds, squinting at Jade.

* * *

"So I can go home now, right?" Jade asks, making her way to the front door as Cat puts pizza in the microwave.

Sam's muffled screams can be heard from their room. Jade had offered to tie her up after all the ice pack dabbing was done with, to Cat's reluctant nod, and even added "her own touch" by stuffing a sock in Sam's mouth.

"Wait—you need to help me untie Sam for dinner," Cat says, gesturing at the microwaving pizza. "You know I'm not good with knots... and chains."

Jade sighs on the spot. "Here—" she takes out a huge pair of scissors from her bag and tosses it onto the couch. "When you give them back to me tomorrow, there better be blood on them."

"But where would I get bl—" Cat asks, innocent as always.

"Cat, I'm going home!" Jade yells, swinging the front door open.

"Wait, Jade—"

"Why'd you bring me here, anyway?" Jade whips around, again her arms forming the usual, crossed position in front of her chest. Looking like the perfect balance between smug and annoyed, as always. "She was gonna give in if you tried long enough, anyway."

"Well, I just wanted you two to meet," Cat replies, her already big eyes widening as her lips stretch to her usual wide smile, all excited. "I thought you'd get along."

"Why couldn't you stick a pole through me instead..." Jade says, rolling her eyes. "How long is she staying, anyway? She doesn't look like the kind to stick around."

"She's stayed for several weeks now," Cat ponders. "But I mean, I know she wouldn't leave me babysitting alone. You know how much I can't handle stress, and some of these kids are just—out of control!"

Jade raises her eyebrows, "Oh, I do. But does _she_?"

"Of course, I've fainted a couple of times in front of her before!"

"_Cat_, that's not what I meant. You know, you don't even _know_ this chick," Jade warns.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cat frowns, obviously hurt. "She's Sam from iCarly! The super popular web show—_hello_?"

"Look—I'm just sayin', with your Nona living in Elderly Acres now, you'll be left all _alone_ in your big little house if this Sam chick quits on you," Jade states. "So watch your back or let yourself get stabbed," she adds, her eyes glaring menacingly. "Just sayin'."

"She wouldn't _quit_ on me, she refurnished our whole living room for me!" Cat says, gesturing wildly at all the That's A Drag! props Sam had sneaked in their home just to surprise her, only weeks ago.

"I'm just sayin'—oh—" Jade takes a step back, her hand flying dramatically to her chest, her eyelinered eyes widening, her lips opening in a little 'O', her usually angry face looking startled. "Your pizza's on fire! Quick!"

"Oh, n—" Cat whips around to face the burning pizza in the microwave, but nothing's on fire. The pizza's heating in the rotating metallic platform in the microwave and it's actually smelling really nice. _Well, if my pizza's not on fire, then..._

"Bye, sucker," Jade announces as the front door slams to a close.

"My pizza was _not_ on fire! Your _pants_ are on fire!" Cat yells pointlessly at the closed door.

A noise like a big bag falling onto the floor startles Cat. She checks to see what it was, only to see Sam sprawled on the floor. She'd only started to bend down to help Sam up when Sam's somehow untied hands grab her by the ankles, shaking them slightly. Her voice hoarse from all the muffled screaming, Sam asks rather desperately, "Our _pizza's_ on fire?"

* * *

"So what's the deal with this Jade girl, anyway?" Sam asks, rubbing her two hands around the other's wrists, where Cat can clearly see the rope and chain marks. She gulps at the horrifying thought that Sam must have strained herself bad trying to break off the ropes _and_ the chains at the same time. They're sitting on the couch with the heated pizza resting between them. "She sure don't look like the kinda girl _you_'d hang around with."

"Well, I know she can be a little aggressive someti—"

Sam's face distorts into extreme disbelief, "A _little_?"

"—yeah, but I mean, she lets me give her hugs!" Cat counters. "And she doesn't even like hugs."

"So, like, me?" Sam asks, unsure.

"Except you don't hug back," Cat nods.

"Right," Sam agrees.

The two sit in the silence for a bit while the television plays in the background, the distant voices of two men arguing about toilet seats filling in the awkward blank between Sam and Cat.

"So... What did you tell her about me, again?" Sam demands, taking a big bite into her slice of cheesy pizza (she had tricked Cat into letting her take the biggest and cheesiest slice earlier—"The smallest slice always brings good luck, didn't you know? It's an Italian thing.")

"Well, we talked about a lot of things," Cat replies, refusing to look at Sam. In her hand is actually the smallest pizza slice. _It doesn't even have cheese on it_,_ how is this a part of the pizza? Why would the pizza gods let this happen?_

"She doesn't like me, does she?" Sam asks, a satisfied grin on her face.

"Not one bit," Cat says, smiling back.

"Well," Sam says, putting her hand into the depths of her shirt and pulling out a piece of folded paper. She tosses it sideways to Cat, "Give this back to her and tell her I don't need reminders, will ya?"

And just like that, Sam goes back to her pizza, looking down at it lovingly before stuffing them full-force in her mouth, smearing tomato sauce and cheese strings all over her face.

Cat unfolds the paper, humming. The paper only had seven words, scrawled in obvious hurry: _Hurt Cat, you DIE. I'll be WATCHING._

The word DIE was underlined so many times the paper kind of tore on that part. When Cat looks up, however, she sees that Sam is watching her. "This looks a lot like Jade's handwriting," Cat observes.

Sam exhales, exasperated. "Of _course_ it's her handwriting. She wrote it and stuffed it down my shirt the moment you left the room. I mean, I don't really care about a bit of paper in my bra, I thought she was doin' something else."

"Doing what?" Cat asks, interested.

"That's not even the point," Sam answers, waving her hand dismissively. "Just tell her I'm a good person, will ya? I can't have her standing over my bed whenever I wake up just because _she_'s paranoid."

_But why would Jade leave a reminder for Sam? I haven't even started telling her what I think about Sam... All she's said to me is to watch my back, but why? She doesn't even know Sam. I mean, she's not the one living with her and she's only just met her... Ahh, my head's starting to hurt again..._ "Well... You're not scared of her, are you?"

"What—no!" Sam recoils, disgusted. "I just don't feel like fighting someone who you say is your best friend, or whatever. You'd end up kicking me outta the house or something."

"Sam Puckle, you're a sweet roommate slash bestie," Cat smiles, before throwing her arms around Sam's shoulder, knocking her pizza out of her hand at the same time. "And I would _never_ kick you out of our house!"

Sam groans, rolling her eyes, before holding up her hand. "Okay—five things: One, _not_ a hugger. Two, _not_ sweet. Three, _it's Puckett, and has always been Puckett_," She put down a finger with every item on the list, enunciating each word clearly. When she's left with her index finger, she turns to Cat. "And last, that's a whole freakin' _minute_ that you've got your arms around me—release me now or watch what I can do to you with one finger."

Cat doesn't say anything but lets go, giggling the whole time. _Sometimes I wish I could read minds. Maybe then Sam wouldn't seem so confusing to me. Sometimes just thinking about how I don't know what she's thinking gets me kind of mad. _She thinks to herself, the little voice in her head all wise and observant, _All the interesting people sure are the stubborn ones..._


End file.
